Incapable of Love
by Tee-Cup
Summary: When Bruce calls in his cousin to help him from the inside of Arkham there's only one thing they can learn. Sociopaths are incapable of love. I don't own Batman or any related content. Please enjoy and review! No hate though please! Crane/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Okay. I've recently fallen in love with the whole Batman Franchise and especially Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow. Okay I lie, Cillian Murphy. So I thought I'd write a FanFiction because… reasons.  
Based probably mid-Batman Begins and might continue to further on too.  
I don't own Batman, or Cillian. But I sure as hell love him.  
Incapable of Love.  
Chapter 1**

Bruce and Alfred were waiting anxiously for Sofia to arrive. She was already an hour late and given the current circumstances, this made Bruce nervous. Sofia was his cousin, a couple of years younger than him, she lived rather far away but they'd met many times before when her and her parents had come to stay. They hadn't seen each other in fifteen years but he knew that she was a psychiatrist, and he knew that she was very good. And that he could trust her. He'd asked her to come to help him with working out who else could be a pawn in the little game. They had Falcone, Bruce had brought him into custody the night before but he knew there was more. He just had to work out whom, and Sofia had a way with identifying sociopaths.

When, at long last, the doorbell sounded throughout the house Alfred got up to answer it and Bruce stood, waiting for her. When he saw her he was pleasantly surprised. She was much different to how he remembered. She had once been short and slightly podgy with mouse brown hair and glasses. She was now tall and slender, wearing a black top and thigh-hugging pencil skirt with smart, black heels. She was also carrying a leather-bound black folder, thick with papers. She had bouncy, dirty blonde hair and bright green eyes. She gave him a brief smile and shook his hand.

"Hello Bruce, I haven't seen you in quite some time! Been busy?" she asked, her voice light, conversational.

He nodded and shrugged, humoured by his own, personal inside joke, "I guess you could say that. It's good to see you Sofia. Listen, I'm afraid I don't really have time for small-talk and I need to get down to business." He said offering her a seat. She sat down and he got on with it, explaining next to everything. Giving her the key details and awaiting her assumptions.

"So…" she began, obviously thinking things over, leaning forward in her seat, "A massive crime operation, concerning some of the biggest thugs in Gotham and you're just curious? Why?" she looked at him with a slight glimmer of curiosity in her own eyes.

"This is my home." He said bluntly, prepared for this but she came right back at him.

"And you think you can do something about it? What? I'm the brains and you're the brawns? Together we can save the city of Gotham? I don't think it works like that Bruce. I'll help you in any way I can," she said as she stood, "But since I'm going to be here I'll need to find a job."

"You're welcome to stay here; you can have your old room?" Bruce said, standing with her and she smiled.

"Thank you Bruce, I appreciate it. I'll do some investigating of my own." She smiled and picked up her folder, as she went to leave the room she turned back around, "Oh… And just so you know, I can help on the brawn side, after your parents death I took the liberty of getting a little… training." She smiled and nodded her goodbye before turning and leaving. Only letting Bruce stare after her, a deep, nagging feeling at the back of his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Over the next couple of weeks Bruce came to a firm conclusion that he needed to keep a close eye on his cousin. She was acting strange; perhaps it was just the fact that he hadn't seen her in so long. But she had changed so much since the sweet teenager he'd once known. She hardly ever spoke to him, then again she was hardly ever home. She would leave in the early hours of the morning and wouldn't return until late at night. When she was home she would be up in her room, and he had no idea what she did in there. One day he decided he needed to know. Gently knocking on her door he ventured inside.

"Sofia?" he said quietly, he was wearing his robe and pyjama bottoms like normal, and she looked up and he could see that she was still in her smart suit, sat at her desk. Not just her desk but her entire room it seemed was covered with papers and files. He didn't want to mess any of them up so he closed the door behind himself and stuck to it.

"Hey Bruce! What's up? Sorry everything's such a mess, I've been working pretty hard…" she smiled and sat back in her chair to look at him.

"Do you ever sleep?" he said with a light laugh.

"Do you?" she said with a raised eyebrow and he couldn't stop his grin.

"Touché!" he grinned, "I was just wondering if there's anything I can help you with? You seem to be so snowed under with work…"

"I'm fine Bruce. Thank you. I got a job with the district, consulting psychiatrist. Although I'm working to impress Doctor Crane at Arkham. Ever since medical school he's been something of an idol to me and I based all my papers on his work. If I ever got the chance to work with him, I would snatch it up with both hands! Here's my chance so I'm taking it!" she grinned and the nagging feeling at the back of his head returned.

"Just… be careful," he warned, "Surely you've heard the rumours about Crane and that place?"

"Yeah, but I've been such a huge fan of Crane since I was sixteen years old and first read one of his papers. Don't look so worried! I'm a big, tough girl, I can take care of myself!" she said with a wink and looked back down at her untidy scrawl that came with being a Doctor, "And once this paper is finished, I hope that I can present it to him and he might at least let me pick his brain…" she bit her lip and looked down at her paper with glittering eyes. "Rachel's asked me to go to a hearing tomorrow, he's going to be there as a consultant and she wants a second opinion. I don't see why, the man's a genius, she should be taking what he says as law!" she said with a grin and Bruce nodded politely even though he'd lost interest in the conversation by now.

"Just, be careful…" he said with a gentle smile before opening the door and leaving her to get on with her paper. Even though the nagging feeling would not go away, he felt that she just had some harmless obsession with this man and it was best for her to get it out of her system. There was nothing he could, let alone needed, to do about it.

…

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, only that when her eyes finally opened the early morning light was seeping through the windows. Her head was resting on her arms and she was cooped over her desk. The finally finished paper neatly lay in front of her. Then she remembered, exhausted after finally finishing her paper she had laid down her head for a moment and now that moment seemed to have turned to hours.

A surge of excitement swelled through her, today was the day she was to meet the man she'd idolised for so long. Doctor Jonathan Crane had become a kind of hero to her, someone to admire and aspire to be like.

Stretching, she stood up and checked her phone. One missed call from her best friends Kirsty. She quickly texted her to tell her that she was still safe and still in Gotham before throwing her phone down onto a pile of papers on the bed and changing her clothes, glancing at the clock she saw that she had plenty of time to get ready and rehearse what she was going to say to Doctor Crane. She sat back at her desk and glanced at the paper, reading it over whilst putting her hair up into a neat bun. She was going to look her best to meet this man.

Once she'd thoroughly read through her paper again she looked again at the time and felt a pleasant but nervous jolt that it was time for her to leave. She picked up her own paper amongst many of his old ones and her work folders she balanced them in her arms, as well as picking up her car keys and slipping her feet into her favourite black heels. She walked out to her car and dumped the huge pile of papers onto the front passenger's seat before sliding into the driver's seat; she put the key into the ignition and sat back for a second. Her stomach was doing little flips; butterflies appeared to have made a nest in there. It was like when you know you're about to meet your favourite celebrity. She could hardly contain her excitement but she knew that she needed to keep her honour and not make a complete fool of herself.

Taking a deep breath, she began to drive towards the court house. The drive was short and she was glad to see her old friend Rachel Dawes climbing the steps to the courthouse a little ahead of her. Calling her name she caught up to her and they greeted each other as old friends, starting up a small conversation.

"So how come you're back here in Gotham?" Rachel asked.

"Well, I had been looking for an excuse of a change of scenery and Bruce asked me to come. I think he wanted me to profile some sociopaths or something!" Sofia smiled in return.

"Ah of course. Bruce is all about protecting the city. I don't think he's quite worked out how to do it yet though…" Rachel replied with a sad smile. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here, I'm sure that the district wouldn't bypass someone with your talents and reputations to work here!" her smile turned to a grin and Sofia blushed, holding her papers closer to her chest.

"Oh be quiet you!" she said and Rachel stopped.

"Here we are…" she said, looking up at the doors. "Ready?" she asked her and Sofia nodded slightly in return. She was as ready as she'd ever be; ready to meet Doctor Jonathan Crane.


	3. Chapter 3

**Batman  
Sorry I know I've been taking forever to update all of my stories, including this one. But now exams are over I'll update everything a lot more.  
Please don't lose interest in this story because I haven't, I've just been distracted by school!  
I don't own Batman or any related content.  
Incapable of Love  
Chapter 3**

Sofia sat through the hearing and did her best not to show her excitement. She was a professional and so she acted like one, keeping an open mind and observing the case with fresh eyes. The same as she did with all of her cases. And even she had to admit there were some flaws in Doctor Crane's testimony. He wanted the culprit to be moved to Arkham and the judge agreed with this but Sofia could not profile any reason why he should be moved to the secure wing there. He might be so disturbed that he was a little bit messed up and felt the need to kill but that didn't enquire a need to be in an asylum. It enquired a need to be put behind bars.

Once it was over she lingered behind to collect up all her papers and watched as the culprit was taken away. She then turned her attention to Crane and Rachel talking just outside the courtroom doors, he went to walk away but she followed. And Sofia followed her, walking slowly and keeping a distance, hoping to catch Crane after Rachel was done talking to him. She watched as he walked away again and this time, Rachel didn't follow. Sofia took this as her opportunity and ran to catch up with him.

"Doctor Crane! Doctor Crane!" she yelled, and he stopped without turning. She saw his shoulders sag and he turned slowly, his eyes were cold but she didn't care. This was her opportunity to impress the man she'd idolised since the age of sixteen. She reached him and beamed, clutching her papers to her chest with one hand she held out the other. "Doctor Sofia Wayne, it's a pleasure to meet you." He shook her hand lightly, not saying anything.

"It's more than a pleasure really, it's an honour. You see I've been a bit of a fan of your work since I was sixteen and read your paper on the construction of molecules in medicine and how each construction can have an effect on how the medicine should be administered. I find your work fascinating! I based most of my papers on your theses and I almost know the majority of your own papers off by heart." She paused, his eyes had changed; there was a flicker of amusement in them now. "That sounded so stalker-y I'm sorry…" she whispered but he smiled lightly.

"No, of course not. I'm flattered that you find my work so intriguing."

"Oh thank God!" she laughed and began rifling through the papers in her arms to find the one she'd been working on so avidly. As she searched she continued speaking, she expected him to offer to hold some of them, he didn't.

"Look, I've been working on this paper about the different emotions of sociopaths and how they act on their emotions focussing heavily on the emotions of love and compassion and I was wondering if you could maybe look over it. I would really value your input, like I said before, I'm a bit of a huge fan!" she found the paper and held it, half out to him half ready to pull it back in and scuttle off in embarrassment should he decline. For a moment her heart thumped in her chest and her mouth was dry as she looked at him, it was impossible to predict his next move, he was fascinating.

He looked at her face for a moment, his eyes slightly narrowed as if he was trying to work her out before he smiled again and took her paper.

"Of course Doctor Wayne, I shall read it and perhaps we can discuss it in my office say tomorrow, midday? Perhaps even a light lunch?"

She could not believe her luck.

"Of course! That sounds perfect!" she rambled but he was already making his way towards the elevators, she called after him, a massive grin on her face.

"Thank you so much! It's a date!" he raised an eyebrow and she realised what she'd said and quickly tried to correct herself before the elevator doors closed. "Not a date! But dates like a meeting! Right?! It's not that kind of date!" she called and as the elevator doors closed she saw him chuckling to himself and shaking his head as he opened the first page of her paper.

Now would be a good time to scuttle off in embarrassment, and so she did just that.

**A/N: I hope that was a good little update and I hope that it's got you wanting to know what will happen when Sofia goes to meet Doctor Crane! Is he going to kill her? Drug her? Use her?  
We'll make a deal, keep reviewing and I'll keep writing! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Batman  
Please don't lose interest in this story because I haven't, I've just been distracted by school!  
I don't own Batman or any related content.  
Incapable of Love  
Chapter 4**

Sofia looked up at Arkham asylum with a bit of a grin on her face before walking smartly through the doors. She signed in at the front desk and was escorted up to Crane's office. He wasn't there, she was told he would be with her shortly but after a few minutes of waiting she decided she would have a snoop around. She got up and walked around the room, it was lined with bookshelves; she ran her finger over their spines with a smile but narrowed her eyes when she came to book without a title. It was directly behind his desk and was the only book that didn't have a thin layer of dust coating it. Eager to find out more about this book she went to pull it from the shelf and was surprised to find a section of the wall not covered by a bookshelf, about a metre away from her, fall back a little before twisting to reveal a secret passageway. Finding it all a great big adventure she slowly walked over to the door and ventured inside. She found herself in a small control room with a large glass window. Through the window she could see another room; it was bare except for what looked like a dentist's chair in the middle of the room. Strapped to the chair was a man, he was a big thug-like man but he had his eyes closed and was twitching and whimpering. He looked injured.

She looked around hastily and saw the door to get through from the control room into the room with the man; she burst through it and immediately began checking the man's pulse and breathing. They were both elevated, she tried talking to him.

"Hello? Hello can you hear me?" she cried, he opened his eyes and looked at her. They were mad eyes, tortured eyes.

"Scarecrow…" he muttered and she knew immediately that this man had been mistreated. She began to claw at the straps and tried to free him. She didn't care if Crane was a genius, she would have this place shut down if they were mistreating people.

"I wouldn't do that." A smooth voice came from the doorway. Crane stood there with his hands behind his back, a young man, an apprentice of Cranes, was now seated in the control room. Looking at her with a sadistic smile. She gently attempted to ease her feet from her heels in case a quick getaway was needed. She knew he'd noticed but she did it all the same.

"What are you doing here Crane?" she asked quietly, not breaking eye contact with him.

"Experiments," he said softly, "Experiments to test the human mind and find its limits. Is that not the entire reasoning of psychology?"

"No. Not like this it isn't." she said roughly and began to tug at the restraints again. When she looked up at him again, Crane was wearing an incredibly ridiculous yet also quite scary scarecrow mask. She jumped back quickly and saw as Crane gave the slightest nod to his apprentice. The hiss of gas frightened her enough but as she breathed it in all her deepest fears exploded around her. She fell to the ground and scrambled away into a corner which was instantly infected with spiders. Screeching, she jumped up and sprinted from the corner and right into the arms of Crane in his scarecrow mask. She tried to push herself from his terrifying mask but he grabbed her upper arms and held her in place. She tried to calm herself and telling herself that it was just Crane in a mask but it was no use, he terrified her.

"Is it infecting your mind Doctor Wayne?" he asked harshly and she felt her legs going weak. Tears streamed down her face and her breathing quickened with every breath. "Is the experiment working?"

She cried out and collapsed to the floor, his arms snaked around her and supported her; he held her close and stroked her hair, making shushing noises in a twisted attempt to calm her.

"Hush…" he said soothingly, using one hand to remove the mask and slide it under the chair and out of her sight, he smiled down at her warmly, "You can trust me…" he said and wiped the tears from her cheeks, she stared up at him with wide eyes, clinging to the front of his suit jacket. "I'll take the monsters away."

He produced a syringe from his pocket and gently injected it into her arm. She whimpered for a few moments more before her eyes drooped closed and her body went limp in his arms. He smiled up at his apprentice.

It worked.


End file.
